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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bank — for money
  3. net — for catching
  4. kid — to tease
  5. ground — a position
  6. net — in sport
  7. pop — soda
  8. swing — in golf
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. ground — crushed
  11. net — after costs
  12. pop — music
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. swing — music
  15. bank — of a river
  16. bank — for money
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. swing — to play on
  22. ground — the earth
  23. sharp — clever
  24. pass — to spend time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com